Sunday, February 19, 2017

NY#6

Time is flying by, I've been in New York for a month now! Things that happened in the last 10 days: first day of spring weather, first snow storm, fashion week, boxing classes, Valentine's day, my first exam at uni and one of the best pizzas of my life. As always, a very picture-heavy post!

I usually start the day with oatmeal, I can't get tired of it!

Last Wednesday really felt like spring, the sun was shining and it was 16 degrees Celsius. Perfect weather for denim, sneakers and an iced latte! The weather forecast for the following day? Snow storm! I could hardly believe it...

But indeed, the next morning I woke up to snow, lots of snow! I was so excited so I got up and went for a walk in Soho, which was practically deserted. Because of the snow, the university was closed so I had the whole day off!

After brunch, I braved the snow and went to the Öhlin/D fashion presentation. I loved the location and that particular sweet pea shade of purple. The collection is gorgeous!

The next day the clouds had cleared and it was full-on sunshine again! The snow had turned to slush so it was super slippery everywhere.

Washington Square Park had turned into one giant ice and snow paradise. Pretty to see but I nearly slipped at least 10 times!

After a late class, I wasn't motivated to cook a whole meal so I got falafel and hummus at Mamoun's (a famous falafel place) and made a kale and tomato salad at home. A perfect combo! The falafel from Mamoun's really delicious.

Still trying some coffee places, although I'm doing it less now that I make coffee at home. The coffee from Porto Rico Importing Co. is good and quite inexpensive.

Snowy Bleecker St., one of my favorite streets Downtown.

I finally got around to trying Rubirosa pizza, which is Bella Hadid's favorite (if it's good enough for her it's good enough for me). We shared half vodka pizza (a creamy tomato sauce with vodka although you can't taste the vodka) and half vodka pesto. I liked the simple vodka the most! This was one of the best pizzas I've had.. ever! Very different from real Italian pizza, also thin but much crunchier. SO GOOD.

On Saturday I headed to the Standard with a few girl friends and we went to both Le Bain and Boom Boom Room. There was some kind of dress-up drag queen theme that night so it was super fun to see most people all dressed up in the craziest outfits.

The best thing about the Boom Boom Room is the view from the bathrooms. The windows are ceiling-to-floor so when you sit down on the toilet this is your view:

Sundays with La Colombe and the new U.S. Vogue (as requested by my sister, you're welcome!)

Valentine's day was just around the corner so everything in New York transformed into one big soppy love theme.

Even the cookies at Dean & Deluca.

Although Zara is way more expensive here, I went to check out the new collection. I like it a lot! These frilled pants were my absolute favorite, I might have to ask my sister to get these for me in Belgium ;)

February has been so perfect in terms of weather. Although it has been pretty cold, most days were clear blue and sunny, which means I take pictures non-stop.

I caved and finally bought the smallest Bialetti Moka there is, good for one espresso. Isn't it the cutest thing? The picture doesn't really show the real-life size, it's tiny! I got it on Amazon, way cheaper than in most stores I checked here.

My mom sent me a surprise all the way from Belgium, this leopard bag from Sandro. I love it and I've been using it non-stop the last week!

I'm not entirely sure why, but a typical New York thing is some kind of steam which comes from below the ground. Anyone know what it is or where it comes from?

I had a blueberry muffin at Dean & Deluca and it was delicious! I rarely eat muffins back home but in New York they make pretty good ones.

I must compensate with all that eating so apart from walking a lot, I got some classes at Classpass so I can try out different places in the neighborhood. First up was Overthrow, the coolest boxing gym I've ever seen. The place is tiny but the class was really great and intense! I liked that they play music, it kind of makes it easier to push a little harder. And it felt so good to box again, it had been a while. It's definitely my favorite thing to do, work-out wise.

Banter knows the way to my heart ;) avo toast + flat whites all the way

Beautiful Soho

One of my go-to dinners, sweet potato with avocado, hummus, spinach and parsley. I also added some green peas this time. Such a quick and nutritious meal!

New places seem to open up constantly in New York. De Maria just opened and it's high on my to-do list!

Valentine's day came around so the florists were having the busiest day of the year. Which roses would you pick?

I bought some carnations because they're so kitsch and they stay pretty for about two weeks.

It was so fun to watch men walk around with cupcake boxes and flowers. Valentine's is a BIG thing here!

Tokyo Bike has some of the nicest bicycles I've seen here and it made me miss my bicycle so much. I love cycling so I hope to do it soon again!

Moët did something really smart and created a nice pink wall in Nolita, perfect as a backdrop for pictures. An easy way to get brand exposure on social media. I must admit, this wall is very insta-friendly (find it on the corner of Kenmare St. and Mott St.)

More Valentine's cheesiness...

I met my friends at The Cadillac House on Hudson St., where there's a super random art installation. It's an interactive room where you can sit and play with everything. Everything is over the top and super psychedelic.

We found these squishy eggs to sit and bounce on!

The Cadillac House is generally a really cool space with different things to see and do. There's also a really relaxed Joe's Coffee where you can sit for hours!

More love!

I love this poster

We went to search for Baron Von Fancy's newest artwork on 7th Avenue. He's my favorite street artist so when I heard about this new work, I had to see it right away. Love it!

Who remembers that scene in Sex & The City "Is it me or is Valentine's Day this year on steroids?" So many restaurants had these balloons, it was incredibly cheesy.

Talk about cheesy, my friends and I went to watch the sun set over the Hudson River. We froze our butts off but it was beautiful.

After sunset we walked through Perry Street to see Carrie Bradshaw's house. Nothing special but the whole of Perry St. is really lovely!

On Wednesday night I had an exam which I'd been studying for all week, so I hope I did well. After finishing the exam I met a friend at a Greek place called Snack Taverna. We shared a couple of things and everything was delicious. It's a very simple restaurant, nothing fancy but I liked it a lot because you can sit here for a long time and they won't rush you like at most restaurants.

On Thursday I tried my second boxing school: Gotham Gym. Gigi Hadid boxes at Gotham so I was really looking forward to this class. It was really intense and so much fun. And of course it doesn't hurt that the whole vibe at this gym is achingly cool. How can you not be motivated with Muhammad Ali projected in the background?

After the boxing class, I was starving so I headed to By Chloe on Lafayette.

And treated myself to a smoothie bowl! It was very tasty but I must say that I can make better smoothie bowls at home. It wasn't as creamy as I'd hoped! But the toppings made up for it.

If you have any New York recommendations for me let me know. And also let me know what you'd like to see more of and I'll make it happen!